This invention relates to bobbers which are used by anglers, which allow the fishing line to slip through the bobber, and which are free of unwanted rotation.
Many designs of angler's bobbers have progressed the art, and there are opportunities to progress the art further. For example the bobber proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 729,687 by Smith uses just two pieces, a float and a stem. The line is positioned in a notch in the stem, and the stem and the line are wedged into the float so that the line is fixed. The rotational stability, limited here by the moment arm resulting from the hook end of the line being offset from the center line of the bobber, can be improved. The bobber proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,379,676 by Blackstone also wedges a stem and the line into the float. Here the stem can drop out of the wedged position, with a knob end of the stem held in the float by an interior shoulder, so that the line can slip. The manufacturing costs of the knob end on the stem and the interior shoulder of the float can be avoided. Again here the line is offset from the center line of the bobber.
The bobber proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,525,067 by Dungan uses a two piece stem, one piece having a slot to receive the line. The two piece stem can be adjusted to wedge the stem and line into the float or to leave part of the slot outside the float so that the line can slip. The manufacturing costs of the two piece stem with matching grove and tapered portion can be bypassed. Here also the line is offset from the centerline of the bobber. The bobber proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,992,508 by Schmidt shows a spring and hook arrangement which allows the line to be fixed to the float or held loosely to slip. This arrangement requires manufacture and assembly of numerous parts.
It is very important that a bobber be self-uprighting. When the line is offset from the center line of the bobber and the offset provides a moment arm, then vertical forces normally encountered while angling will cause an unwanted rotation of the bobber. For example, when the bobber rides down to the bottom of a ripple in a body of water, then the inertia of the hook end of the line will act through the moment arm to cause a rotation of the bobber, giving a false indication of a nibble at the bait. The bobber proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,084,470 by Heater uses a weighted stem to get the bobber to stand upright. Here the line is threaded through holes in the stem and float and wedged into the float. Though the position of the bobber along the line can be adjusted, the bobber can not be easily removed from, or added to, a line.
Thus, there are opportunities to progress the art further by making a bobber which is self-uprighting, which is a slip bobber and a fixed bobber, which is easy to attach or remove from a line, and which has low manufacturing costs.